Auctions of Counterfeit Wine Means Sour Grapes for Vinters
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Study estimates that 5% of auctioned wine is fake; new labeling techniques urged
An FBI counterfeit wine investigation of top auction houses and collectors may inspire more makers of high-end wine to approach their packaging in a similar fashion to other highly copied items such as currency and software. That is a summary of what was reported yesterday in the North Bay Business Journal.
The publication, which serves the North San Francisco Bay area and the surrounding "wine country" counties of Napa, Sonoma and Marin, cited results of a study that found that 5% of the $167 million in auction wine sold "was misrepresented."
As we discussed in our ATR-cast on March 7th, skyrocketing wine prices and the ease with which such identifying markers as labels and boxes can be copied and produced has created a growing market for counterfeit wine.
Jerome Zech, CEO of WineBid.com, is quoted as being in favor of some technology being incorporated into wine labels to make bottles more easily traceable. However, he is not in agreement that the financial losses are as bad as the story portrays.
"That number is ridiculous," Zech said of the claim that about $8 million in auctioned wine is bogus "That is a lot of wine. We see thousands of bottles a year, and only a handful are suspect," he told the publication.
An FBI counterfeit wine investigation of top auction houses and collectors may inspire more makers of high-end wine to approach their packaging in a similar fashion to other highly copied items such as currency and software. That is a summary of what was reported yesterday in the North Bay Business Journal.
The publication, which serves the North San Francisco Bay area and the surrounding "wine country" counties of Napa, Sonoma and Marin, cited results of a study that found that 5% of the $167 million in auction wine sold "was misrepresented."
As we discussed in our ATR-cast on March 7th, skyrocketing wine prices and the ease with which such identifying markers as labels and boxes can be copied and produced has created a growing market for counterfeit wine.
Jerome Zech, CEO of WineBid.com, is quoted as being in favor of some technology being incorporated into wine labels to make bottles more easily traceable. However, he is not in agreement that the financial losses are as bad as the story portrays.
"That number is ridiculous," Zech said of the claim that about $8 million in auctioned wine is bogus "That is a lot of wine. We see thousands of bottles a year, and only a handful are suspect," he told the publication.
posted by Chris and Frank at 12:42 AM
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